Astaro has announced the launch of the Essential Firewall edition of its flagship security solution Astaro Security Gateway, available for free to all organisations worldwide. The Essential Firewall edition includes all the necessary functionality that all organisations need to secure their networks and operate a successful business.

Two developments currently shape the IT landscape. One is virtualisation, the other is the trend towards the use of consumer solutions in business environments. Both trends have one common purpose: the imperative to reduce costs. Also, both bear one common danger: they significantly lower the security level of an organisation's network. There are only a few security solutions available that run in a virtual environment, and those tend to be expensive and often complicated to manage. Deploying such solutions requires organisations to cut security requirements - making their network more vulnerable. The same is true for the deployment of consumer products in a business environment.

"Small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of the world economy. They act more cautious, they maintain a stable business and they are not subject to the high demands of investors", says Jan Hichert, CEO at Astaro. "But nevertheless, SMBs are affected by the current economic climate even more so than larger businesses. This is why we see more and more businesses fall back to consumer products to secure their IT environment - in order to reduce costs, they lower their level of security. This is a dangerous compromise. By launching the Essential Firewall edition we aim to provide those companies a professional alternative."

As a free edition of the Astaro Security Gateway, the Essential Firewall offers the same easy-to-use Graphical User Interface and is available as Software and Virtual Appliance. Additionally, the Essential Firewall edition will come with the ability to receive support through Astaro's user forum.